Menghan Zhang

Microalgae have been emerging as an important source for the production of bioactive compounds. Marine diatoms can store high amounts of lipid and grow quite quickly. However, the genetic and biochemical characteristics of fatty acid biosynthesis in diatoms remain unclear. Glycerophospholipids are integral as structural and functional components of cellular membranes, as well as precursors of various lipid mediators. In addition, diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) is a key enzyme that catalyzes the last step of triacylglyceride (TAG) biosynthesis. However, a comprehensive sequence-structure and functional analysis of DGAT in diatoms is lacking. In this study, an isoform of diacylglycerol acyltransferase type 2 of the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum was characterized. Surprisingly, DGAT2 overexpression in P. tricornutum stimulated more oil bodies, and the neutral lipid content increased by 35%. The fatty acid composition showed a significant increase in the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids; in particular, EPA was increased by 76.2%. Moreover, the growth rate of transgenic microalgae remained similar, thereby maintaining a high biomass. Our results suggest that increased DGAT2 expression could alter fatty acid profile in the diatom, and the results thus represent a valuable strategy for polyunsaturated fatty acid production by genetic manipulation.

The term ferroptosis coined in 2012 causes acute kidney injury (AKI). However, its pathway mechanism in AKI is poorly understood. In this study, we conducted an RNA-sequence analysis of kidneys in AKI and normal mice to explore the pathway mechanism of ferroptosis. Consequently, differentially expressed genes highlighted Acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family (ACSL4), a known promotor for ferroptosis. Besides, RT-PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemical analyses confirmed its upregulation. HIF-1α was downregulated in I/R-AKI mice, and in vitro studies confirmed a negative regulation of HIF-1α on ACSL4. To explore the role of ACSL4 in AKI, we constructed ACSL4 knockout in kidney tubules of mice-as Cdh16Cre-ACSL4F/F mice. Results revealed that ACSL4 knockout significantly reduced ferroptosis and inhibited the functional and pathological injury of AKI mice. Meanwhile, the kidneys of Cdh16Cre-ACSL4F/F mice demonstrated a significantly decreased inflammation and macrophage infiltration. Further, additional explorations were explored to decipher a more thorough understanding of ferroptotic immunogenicity. As a result, neutrophils were not directly recruited by ferroptotic cells, but by ferroptotic cell-induced macrophages. Further, ACSL4 inhibitor rosiglitazone significantly inhibited AKI. Collectively, these data provide novel insights into the AKI pathogenesis, and defined ACSL4 as an effective target in AKI.

The series Ag-AgI/BiOI-Bi2O3 visible-light-driven photocataslyts were successfully synthesized by solvothermal method. The as-synthesized samples were systematically characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, EDS, BET, XPS, FR-IR, UV-vis DRS, photoelectrochemical measurements and EPR. The formation mechanism of the new composite photocataslyts was investigated and the simulate formation process had been illustrated. The photocatalytic properties of the samples were evaluated by degradation of methyl orange under visible-light irradiation. The results shown that the 30% Ag-AgI/BiOI-Bi2O3 photocataslyts possessed the best photocatalytic activity and the kinetics reaction models were followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. The enhanced photocatalytic performance could be attributed to the effective separation and transfer of electron-hole pairs resulting by the deposing of Ag-AgI nanoparticles and Bi2O3. The photocatalytic mechanism was deduced by trapping experiments and EPR, and the results demonstrated that h+, OH, O2- radicals played different roles in the degradation. Furthermore, a new Z-scheme multi-heterojunction mechanism was proposed basing on the results of trapping experiments and EPR.

A novel nanocomposites (N-RGO/Fe3O4) with the function of adsorption and catalytic degradation of pharmaceuticals in water was successfully synthesized through a facile hydrolysis process. The nitrogen modified reduced graphene oxide (N-RGO) incorporated with magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles could enhance its adsorption and catalytic activity, and allowed the magnetic separability. The as-prepared N-RGO/Fe3O4 exhibited relatively fast adsorption for norfloxacin (NOR) and ketoprofen (KP), and the maximum adsorption capacity on the N-RGO/Fe3O4 was 158.1 mg/g for NOR and 468.0 mg/g for KP according to the Langmuir fitting. The N-RGO/Fe3O4 composite could activate persulfate (PS) to generate active radicals. NOR degradation kinetics and pathway by N-RGO/Fe3O4/PS system were also investigated. A complete removal of NOR (20 mg/L) was achieved within 210 min with the addition of 10 mmol/L S2O82− and 100 mg/L N-RGO/Fe3O4, and the removal efficiency of total organic carbon (TOC) was 89%. Electron spin resonance (ESR) tests verified that both OH and SO4− were produced in the catalytic oxidation process, and OH played a significant role in the N-RGO/Fe3O4/PS system.

A great obstacle for the practical applications of the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect is the lack of suitable two-dimensional (2D) materials with a sizable nontrivial band gap, high Curie temperature, and high carrier mobility. Based on first-principles calculations, here, we propose the realizations of these intriguing properties in asymmetry-functionalized 2D SnHN and SnOH lattices. Spin-polarized band structures reveal that SnOH monolayer exhibits a spin gapless semiconductor (SGS) feature, whereas SnNH is converted to SGS under compressive strain. The Curie temperature of SnOH reaches 266 K, as predicted by Monte Carlo simulation, and it is comparable to the room temperature. When the spin and orbital degrees of freedom are allowed to couple, both systems become large-gap QAH insulators with fully spin-polarized half-metallic edge states and higher Fermi velocity of 4.9 × 105 m s-1. These results pave a new way for designing topological field transistors in group-IV honeycomb lattices.

A mesoporous Ni-C-N/Silica aerogel (Ni-C-N/SA) was prepared by impregnation of the cationic [Ni(tepa)]2+ complex onto a negatively charged silica aerogel support followed by suitable thermal treatment. And Ni-C-N/SA was applied as an adsorbent for selective adsorption of methylene blue (MB). When [Ni(tepa)]2+ loading is 20% and thermal treatment temperature is 400 °C (denoted “NiT20-400/SA”), the adsorption of MB by NiT20-400/SA is 54 mg/g, which is three times that of raw silica aerogel (RSA). However, little adsorption was observed for the anionic dye methyl orange (MO) and large sized cationic dye rhodamine B (RhB), demonstrating that NiT20-400/SA showed selective adsorption for MB. The nitrogen adsorption/desorption results demonstrate that the total pore volume of NiT20-400/SA is about 1.27 cm3/g, which is 25.7% higher than that of the RSA. The pore size distribution also changed from a wide range pore size distribution (13–126 nm) in the RSA to a narrow range mesoporous distribution (mainly 5–15 nm) in NiT20-400/SA. All of these results are due to the “binder” effect of [Ni(tepa)]2+ on the RSA surface. XPS shows that multiple-doping with nickel, carbon and nitrogen (Ni-C-N) were successfully added to the RSA surface via the followed pyrolysis of [Ni(tepa)]2+. As temperature increases in the range 200–600 °C, Ni, C and N species undergo [Ni(tepa)]2+ → Ni-C-N → NiO changes process. The larger total pore volume, suitable pore size distribution, and the unique subject-object interaction between cationic dye and Ni-C-N components results in the increased adsorption capacity and selective adsorption of MB.

Highly efficient oxidation, as non-thermal regeneration technology, is a promising method to solve the regeneration problem of spent activated carbon (AC) in wastewater treatment. In this study, FeOCl was confined into activated carbon (FeOCl/AC) for catalytic oxidation of contaminants on AC during the regeneration process. The characterization results of FeOCl/AC showed that amorphous FeOCl was distributed in micropores, mesopores and macropores of AC. The methylene blue (MB)-adsorbed FeOCl/AC had a regeneration efficiency of 93.7 % at neutral pH in the presence of H2O2, much higher than 46.9 % by Fenton oxidation and 33.7 % by H2O2 oxidation. Meanwhile, the spent FeOCl/AC after the adsorption of atrazine, 2,4-dichlorophenol, and ofloxacin had the regeneration efficiencies of 71.5 %, 86.4 %, and 100 %, respectively. Moreover, the regeneration efficiency still reached 87 % in the fifth adsorption-regeneration cycle, and was linearly decreased with the increase of adsorbed amounts of MB. During 6 h regeneration of spent FeOCl/AC, 97 % of adsorbed MB was degraded. Electron paramagnetic resonance and radical trapping experiments indicated that both superoxide and hydroxyl radicals were involved in MB oxidation during the regeneration process.

The pyrolysis temperature strongly affects the properties of the peanut shell biochar, and influences its adsorption behavior and mechanisms for contaminant removal in aqueous solutions. In this study, peanut shells were pyrolyzed at 400 °C and 700 °C to prepare two biochars (PSBC400 and PSBC700), which were then characterized using scanning electron microscopy/X-ray energy spectrum analysis, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, elemental analysis, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The adsorption behavior of typical tetracycline (TC) onto the biochars was investigated, and the potential adsorption mechanisms explored. The results show that compared with PSBC400, PSBC700 has a larger specific surface area and pore volume and contains higher levels of carbon and ash, but shows lower O, N, and H content. The hydrophilicity and polarity of PSBC700 is lower, but its aromaticity is higher. Furthermore, the mineral content of PSBC400 is higher than for PSBC700. The functional groups differ between PSBC400 and PSBC700, especially those containing C and O. The Elovich and two-compartment adsorption kinetic models are a good fit to the TC adsorption processes on both biochars, but the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model provides better results. The theoretical maximum adsorption capacities of TC onto PSBC700 and PSBC400 are 33.4346 mg·g−1 and 26.4185 mg·g−1, respectively. The main adsorption mechanisms of TC onto PSBC400 are hydrogen bonding and complexation, and are closely related to the functional groups and minerals found in PSBC400. In contrast, the main adsorption mechanisms of TC onto PSBC700 are pore filling and the π–π interaction, and are mainly determined by the surface area and graphited carbon structure of PSBC700. In summary, effective biochar can be manufactured from peanut shell biomass and can be used to remove TC from aqueous solutions.

Herein, a facile strategy was proposed to construct efficient covalent organic frameworks (COFs) adsorbents by grafting affinity groups linked with different lengths of carbon chains as post-synthetic modification, simultaneously achieving the regulation of pore size and functional groups. Specifically, three amine-functionalized COFs were synthesized by the thiol-ene "click" reaction of vinyl-COF, which simultaneously appended amino groups onto the pore wall and tuned the pore size, to effectively capture diclofenac sodium (DS) from water. The constructed COFs, typically COF-3-NH2, exhibited remarkably rapid and efficient removal of DS, with a rate constant k2 of 0.0084 g/mg/min and a maximum adsorption capacity of 410.0 mg/g, superior to most adsorbents previously reported. The impressive performance of COF-3-NH2 was attributed to the synergistic effects arising from densely grafted charged amino groups within ordered pores of suitable size, leading to rapid diffusion and strong affinity towards guest molecules. Electrostatic and π-π stacking interactions played a vital role in capturing DS. COF-3-NH2 could selectively adsorb DS from a mixture. Moreover, the spent COF-3-NH2 could be regenerated by methanol for successive reuse. The adsorbent could efficiently remove DS from real wastewater as well, showing potential for micropollutant removal in practical applications. This work revealed the potential of pore surface engineered COFs as efficient adsorbents for the removal of organic pollutants from contaminated water.

As a nitrogen-containing source, nitrate is regarded as a promising precursor for generating ammonia (NH3) through electrochemical processes that can potentially mitigate the problem of groundwater contamination and the hydrogen-carrier energy crisis. Herein, we report a cobalt zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-67)-derived catalyst of CoNi alloys incorporated in N-doped carbon frameworks for nitrate electroreduction. Computational results obtained using the density functional theory give a deep insight that the structure of CoNi alloys embedded in the N-doped carbon skeleton can inhibit the production of hydrogen and facilitate the hydrogenation of *NO intermediates. The enriched active sites from the ZIF-67-derived structure and the introduction of Ni in the catalyst afford desirable electrocatalytic performance. Finally, the optimized CoNi@NC hybrid can achieve an ammonia production of 168 mmol gcat–1 h–1 and a Faradaic efficiency of ∼93% at a potential as low as −0.1 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). The highest yield rate of 1254 mmol gcat–1 h–1 can be detected at −0.6 V vs RHE. This study can inspire further development of non-noble metal-based hybrid electrocatalysts for nitrate reduction and also anticipation into sustainable synthesis of carbon-related fuels from CO2 reduction.

Alcohol related liver disease (ARLD) is one of the major chronic liver diseases worldwide. This review aimed to describe the global prevalence, incidence, and outcomes of ARLD.Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched from inception to May 31, 2022. The language was restricted to English or Chinese. According to the criteria, articles describing the basic characteristics of the population were selected. Two reviewers extracted the data independently.A total of 372 studies were identified: 353 were used for prevalence analysis, 7 were used for incidence analysis, and 114 were used to for outcome analysis. The prevalence of ARLD worldwide was 4.8%. The prevalence in males was 2.9%, which was higher than female (0.5%). Among the ethnic groups, the percentage was highest in Caucasians (68.9%). Alcoholic liver cirrhosis comprised the highest proportion in the disease spectrum of ARLD at 32.9%. The prevalence of ascites in ARLD population was highest (25.1%). The ARLD population who drinking for > 20 years accounted for 54.8%, and the average daily alcohol intake was 146.6 g/d. About 59.5% of ARLD patients were current or former smokers, and 18.7% were complicated with hepatitis virus infection. The incidence was 0.208/1000 person-years. The overall mortality was 23.9%, and the liver-related mortality was 21.6%.The global prevalence of ARLD was 4.8% and was affected by sex, region, drinking years, and other factors. Therefore, removing the factors causing a high disease prevalence is an urgent requisite.PROSPERO Nr: CRD42021286192.

Assessing the carbon storage capacity of terrestrial ecosystems is crucial for land management and carbon reduction policymaking. There is still a knowledge gap regarding how ecosystem carbon storage will be impacted by combined environmental and land-use factors and their spatial-temporal changes, especially in developed regions where urbanization has slowed down. This study investigated how developed regions in subtropical and tropical areas might increase carbon storage and achieve carbon neutrality, using Guangdong Province in South China as an example. Based on the sustainable development assumption, three land-management scenarios were developed and simulated for 2020-2060 using the Patch-generating Land Use Simulation model. Without considering disturbance and natural losses, carbon storage was estimated by net ecosystem productivity (NEP)-the difference between net primary productivity (NPP) and heterotrophic respiration (HR). NPP was predicted using an artificial neural network model trained by historical NPP data and 16 environmental and land-use variables. HR was predicted using soil respiration models from previous research. Based on the balance between carbon storage and emissions, we predicted the allowable fossil fuel consumption to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions in 2060. The results show that Guangdong's total carbon storage changes from 73.7 MtC in 2020 to 70.6-74.8 MtC in 2060 under different scenarios. Nonlinear relationships exist between the carbon stored and the areas of different land-use types. Topography, temperatures, and land-use configurations jointly lead to significantly varied carbon storage between croplands and between forests in space and time. Protecting and regenerating forests in subtropical areas and forest edges is more effective than afforestation in lowland tropical areas for storing carbon. Net-zero CO2 emissions rely more on reducing emissions than land management. To achieve this, the proportion of fossil energy in total energy consumption should be lowered from 75.5 % in 2020 to ~25 % in 2060.

Metal oxide semiconductor heterojunctions and homojunctions are considered to have better performance than single phase material for room temperature hydrogen gas sensing. In this work, TiO2 facet homojunction (TiO2-FH) thin films were prepared by a two-step hydrothermal method. The TiO2-FH thin films were decorated with Pt nanoparticles using a green photodeposition method and then evaluated for H2 sensing. Non-noble metal Al was used as finger electrodes instead of noble metal Pt. Compared with the TiO2-FH sensor, the H2 detection limits of the platinum loaded TiO2-FH@Pt sensors are remarkably decreased from 8000 ppm to 1 ppm at room temperature. The optimized sensor achieves an excellent sensing performance of S = 1.21 and fast response / recovery times of about 42 s / 30 s when exposed to 1 ppm H2 concentration. The synergy between the Schottky barrier at the Pt/TiO2 interface and the barrier between the (110) and (001) facets of TiO2 is the key to the improvement of the sensing performance. Replacement of noble metal Pt with Al and C electrodes greatly help to clarify the mechanism of the junctions in the thin film sensors, especially the function of the Pt/TiO2 junction and the (110)/(001) TiO2 junction. The simple and green fabrication method and cheap Al interdigitated electrodes are advantageous for practical applications.

In this work, antioxidant carbon dots (ACDs) with high quantum yield (63.98%) were developed through a one-step strategy using citric acid, ethylenediamine, and L-arginine as sources. The ACDs demonstrated excellent in vitro antioxidant activity. Additionally, ACDs displayed a unique fluorescence response to hydroxyl radical (OH). Leveraging this distinctive feature, a selective and sensitive fluorescence-based sensor was developed for detecting bleomycin (BLM) in the presence of ferrous ions (Fe2+). The studies on the oxidizing properties and dynamic quenching mechanism of ACDs by OH suggested that OH reduced the contents of the amino and hydroxyl groups of ACDs, leading to a decreased electron cloud density of ACDs for dynamic quenching of ACDs. Under optimally refined conditions, the detection limit of this strategy for BLM was 0.58 μg/mL, with a linear range spanning from 1 to 24 μg/mL when employing ACDs as the probe. This fluorescence sensing strategy provides a promising method for the detection of BLM in clinical samples.

Diatoms are important primary producers in the marine ecosystem. Currently it is difficult to genetically transform diatoms due to the technical limitations of existing methods. The promoter/terminator of the nitrate reductase gene of the model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum was cloned and used to drive chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene expression. The construct was transferred by electroporation into P. tricornutum grown in medium lacking silicon. CAT expression was induced in transformed diatoms in the presence of nitrate, enabling growth in selective medium, and was repressed when ammonium was the only nitrogen source. Expression of CAT transcript and protein were demonstrated by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. Our study is the first to report a successful genetic transformation of diatom by electroporation in an economical and efficient manner and provides a tightly regulated inducible gene expression system for diatom.

Microalgae have been an emerging biofuel resource; however, the germplasm improvement has been slow due to the lack of molecular tools. Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) deactivates the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) which catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate. Acetyl-CoA production via PDC is important in plant tissues that are active in fatty acid synthesis.A 1261-bp cDNA of a putative PDK gene (PtPDK) was cloned from a diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, and PtPDK antisense knockdown transgenic diatoms were generated. Both PtPDK transcript abundance and enzyme activity were reduced significantly due to antisense knockdown of PtPDK. Neutral lipid content of transgenic diatom cells increased up to 82% as determined by Nile red staining, and fatty acid composition was not altered. Transgenic cells showed slightly lower growth rate but similar cell size with the wild type, hence retaining similar biomass productivity.This work first obtained a successful engineered diatom regulating a key gene involved in lipid metabolism. Our findings also provide powerful indications in enhancing microalgal lipid production by metabolic engineering for biofuel industry.

A novel porphyrinated polymer was synthesized and utilized to covalently functionalize graphene oxide, which exhibited superior optical nonlinearities to individual components due to RSA, NLS, and PET/ET behavior.

We survey recent computer modelling research of language evolution, focusing on a rule-based model simulating the lexicon–syntax coevolution and an equation-based model quantifying the language competition dynamics. We discuss four predictions of these models: (a) correlation between domain-general abilities (e.g. sequential learning) and language-specific mechanisms (e.g. word order processing); (b) coevolution of language and relevant competences (e.g. joint attention); (c) effects of cultural transmission and social structure on linguistic understandability; and (d) commonalities between linguistic, biological, and physical phenomena. All these contribute significantly to our understanding of the evolutions of language structures, individual learning mechanisms, and relevant biological and socio-cultural factors. We conclude the survey by highlighting three future directions of modelling studies of language evolution: (a) adopting experimental approaches for model evaluation; (b) consolidating empirical foundations of models; and (c) multi-disciplinary collaboration among modelling, linguistics, and other relevant disciplines.

Liver biopsy is the gold standard to assess pathological features (eg inflammation grades) for hepatitis B virus-infected patients although it is invasive and traumatic; meanwhile, several gene profiles of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) have been separately described in relatively small hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected samples. We aimed to analyse correlations among inflammation grades, gene expressions and clinical parameters (serum alanine amino transaminase, aspartate amino transaminase and HBV-DNA) in large-scale CHB samples and to predict inflammation grades by using clinical parameters and/or gene expressions.We analysed gene expressions with three clinical parameters in 122 CHB samples by an improved regression model. Principal component analysis and machine-learning methods including Random Forest, K-nearest neighbour and support vector machine were used for analysis and further diagnosis models. Six normal samples were conducted to validate the predictive model.Significant genes related to clinical parameters were found enriching in the immune system, interferon-stimulated, regulation of cytokine production, anti-apoptosis, and etc. A panel of these genes with clinical parameters can effectively predict binary classifications of inflammation grade (area under the ROC curve [AUC]: 0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.77-0.93), validated by normal samples. A panel with only clinical parameters was also valuable (AUC: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.65-0.86), indicating that liquid biopsy method for detecting the pathology of CHB is possible.This is the first study to systematically elucidate the relationships among gene expressions, clinical parameters and pathological inflammation grades in CHB, and to build models predicting inflammation grades by gene expressions and/or clinical parameters as well.

Developing high-efficiency and low-cost semiconductor photocatalysts with carbon layer modification has been proved to possess the potential advantage for dramatically improved photocatalytic performance in recent years. Here, a novel magnetic core-shell Fe3O4@C modified with Co3O4 nanochains photocatalyst (Fe3O4@C/Co3O4) is first constructed via a facile synthetic strategy using inexpensive and ordinary yeast as carbon source. The obtained composite structure is conducive to the transfer and separation of charge carriers due to the synergetic effect of carbon layer and Co3O4 nanochains. In consequence, the photodegradation activity of various pollutants is significantly enhanced relative to that of pure Co3O4 under visible light irradiation. Moreover, the introduction of magnetic materials makes this photocatalyst recycled easily by an external magnetic field and reused effectively without obvious activity loss. This work may provide a feasibility analysis and exemplificative strategy for using simple raw materials as carbon source to observably improve universal photocatalytic activity of composite semiconductor photocatalyst.

A new heterojunction photocatalyst of MoS2/Co3O4 was synthesized for degrading water organic pollutants firstly. The heterojunction photocatalyst contains small Co3O4 nanoparticles deposited on the surface of MoS2 nanosheets. The MoS2/Co3O4 heterojunction exhibits superior degradation efficiency than pure MoS2 and Co3O4 for removing 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) and tetracycline (TC) under visible light. The high degradation efficiency mainly stem from creating heterojunction between MoS2 and Co3O4. The uniform particle size of Co3O4 and the better interfacial interaction of MoS2 and Co3O4 enhance the surface of heterojunction and inhibiting electron-hole pairs recombination. In addition, deep insight in mechanism suggests that holes and superoxide radicals are the major active species in the MBT and TC removal procedures. This present work may provide a promising approach to fabricate other transition metal heterojunction with efficient photocatalytic activity.

The florets of Carthamus tinctorius L. (safflower) serve as the source of a reputable herbal medicine targeting gynecological diseases. Conventional investigations regarding the quality control of safflower, however, mainly focused on the secondary metabolites with primary metabolites ignored.To holistically evaluate the quality difference of safflower samples collected from five different producing regions by multiple chemical and biological approaches with both the primary and secondary metabolites considered.A precursor ions list-triggered data-dependent MS2 approach was established by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/Q-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-Orbitrap MS) to comprehensively identify the secondary metabolites from safflower. Primary metabolites were identified by various 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. Similarity evaluation and quantitative assays of all the characterized primary metabolites and a quinochalcone C-glycoside (QCG) marker, hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA), were performed by quantitative 1H NMR (qNMR) using an external standard method. Multiple in vitro models with respect to the antioxidant, anti-platelet aggregation, and antioxidant stress injury effects, were assayed to determine the efficacy differences.Totally thirteen primary metabolites (including one nucleoside, two sugars, five organic alkali/acids, and five amino acids) and 135 secondary metabolites (97 QCGs and 38 flavonoids) could be identified or tentatively characterized from safflower. Good chemical consistency was observed between the commercial safflower samples and a standard safflower sample, with similarity varying in the range of 0.95‒0.99. The results from qNMR-oriented quantitative experiments (thirteen primary metabolites and HSYA) and biological assays indicated the quality of safflower samples from Xinjiang (XJ-2 and XJ-4), Hunan (HuN-1 and HuN-2), and Sichuan (SC), was comparable to the standard safflower sample.The integration of multiple chemical (using two analytical platforms, UHPLC/Q-Orbitrap MS and NMR) and biological (four in vitro models) approaches by determining both the primary and secondary metabolites demonstrated a powerful strategy that could facilitate the holistic quality evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine.

The changes of Al3(Sc, Zr) morphology in deformed Al-Mg-Mn-Sc-Zr alloy were studied. Two experiment conditions were designed: different temperature and different dislocation density. Different dislocation density was obtained by different deformation method (traditional hot extrusion and equal channel angular pressing (ECAP)). It is calculated that the ECAP introduced a large amount of dislocations into the alloy and these dislocations accelerated the recrystallization making the interfaces move drastically. It is found that annealing the extruded sample at for 1 h does not cause the loss of coherency of the Al3(Sc, Zr) particles whether under 450 °C or 550 °C. However, annealing the ECAP sample at 450 °C causes a small amount of the particles loss of coherency. The main reason is that the grain boundary cut through the particle. Annealing the ECAP sample at 550 °C would cause most of the particles to lose coherency, and there are three main types of incoherency.

Interfacial charge transfer acts as a linchpin role in the research of photogenerated carrier recombination and photocatalysis. In this work, AgBr/Bi2O2CO3 was constructed to explore the structure-activity relationship between heterostructure and catalytic mechanism. The excellent photosensitizer silver bromide nanoparticles were immobilized on the surface of the Bi2O2CO3 hollow pineal-like via a simple hydrothermal method and deliberated the formation mechanism of the heterostructure. The heterostructures were characterized through XRD, BET, XPS, SEM, TEM, EDX, UV–Vis DRS, EIS, PT and TOC. Research demonstrates that owing to the distinct layered structure exhibits fine surface scattering and reflection. It has excellent degradation performance for dyes and PPCPs wastewater and can be completely degraded in a short time. Simultaneously, the introduction of the Z-type mechanism into the p-n type heterojunction photocatalyst, together with the joint contribution of the Schottky barrier, extremely facilitates the charge separation, illustrating brilliant photocatalysis active. Furthermore, Free radical capture experiments certificate that •O2− and h+ are the chief active species in the decomposition of organic pollutants, and the potential photocatalytic mechanism is considered. The consequences of this work will furnish a fresh perspective for the configuration of high-performance visible light-responsive photocatalysts.

In this work, a new type of Al–Mg–Mn-Sc-Zr alloy was compressed under different temperatures (300 °C–450 °C) and different strain rates (0.0001 S-1 to 10 S−1). The hyperbolic sinusoidal Arrhenius flow stress constitutive equation and the constitutive equation of flow stress related with Z parameter have been calculated. In addition, the processing maps based on dynamic material model (DMM) at different strains have been established. The results show that deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of the alloy are significantly affected by deformation temperature and strain rate. The flow stress decreases with the increase of the temperature or the decrease of strain rate. Meanwhile, increasing the temperature or decreasing the strain rate, the average grain boundary (GB) angle and the high angle grain boundary (HAGB) fraction will rise and it is beneficial for dynamic recrystallization (DRX) or dynamic recovery (DRV). The dislocation density of the 1 S−1- 300 °C, 0.0001 S-1- 300 °C, 1 S−1- 450 °C and 0.0001 S-1- 450 °C samples are 1.19 × 1014/m2, 5.97 × 1013/m2, 6.52 × 1013/m2 and 2.03 × 1013/m2 respectively. Moreover, under very low strain rate, some grains would combine together and the morphology of the Al3(Sc, Zr) particles would change. In the 0.0001 S-1- 450 °C sample, some particles have lost the coherency. This is due to the co-effect of the high temperature and the very low strain rate.

The effect of hot deformation on microstructure and quenching-induced precipitation behavior of an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy 7055 was investigated by electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). In the solution heat treated and slowly-quenched alloy without hot deformation, there are equiaxed grains with low dislocation density, and there is major quenching-induced η (MgZn2) phase located at grain boundaries and on some Al3Zr dispersoids in the interior of grains and minor T(Al2Zn3Mg3) phase on Al3Zr dispersoids inside grains. While in the solution heat treated and slowly-quenched alloy after hot rolling, there are recrystallized grains and subgrains with higher dislocation density, and there is a larger amount of quenching-induced η and T phase on incoherent Al3Zr dispersoids inside recrystallized grains and at (sub) grain boundaries; moreover, quenching-induced S (Al2CuMg) phase and Zn-Cu rich Y phase are observed in the interior of subgrains. The precipitation behavior of these quenching-induced phases has been discussed primarily based on their chemical compositions, nucleation sites and different microstructure features in the solution heat treated alloy with and without hot deformation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media served as an important channel for the public to obtain health information and disseminate opinions when offline communication was severely hindered. Yet the emergence of social bots influencing social media conversations about public health threats will require researchers and practitioners to develop new communication strategies considering their influence. So far, little is known as to what extent social bots have been involved in COVID-19 vaccine-related discussions and debates on social media. This work selected a period of nearly 9 months after the approval of the first COVID-19 vaccines to detect social bots and performed high-frequency word analysis for both social bot-generated and human-generated tweets, thus working out the extent to which social bots participated in the discussion on the COVID-19 vaccine on Twitter and their participation features. Then, a textual analysis was performed on the content of tweets. The findings revealed that 8.87% of the users were social bots, with 11% of tweets in the corpus. Besides, social bots remained active over three periods. High-frequency words in the discussions of social bots and human users on vaccine topics were similar within the three peaks of discourse.

The tensile behavior of an Al-6.0 Mg-0.4Mn-0.25Sc-0.10Zr alloy was studied in the temperature range of-196 °C (liquid nitrogen temperature, LNT) ∼ 25 °C (room temperature, RT). The research has found that with the decrease of temperature, the tensile property of the alloy is significantly improved. The work hardening effect is also elevated. The improvement in strength and work hardening effect is attributed to the increase of dislocation density and the fraction of low angle boundary angles (LAGBs), which can enhance the resistance of dislocations movements and the grain boundary strengthening effects. The increase in elongation is due to the inhibition of dislocation cross-slip during cryogenic deformation, which alleviates the local stress concentration and leads to a more uniform deformation. In addition, when deformed at a lower temperature, dislocations tend to accumulate in the grains. The intragranular strength increases faster than the grain boundary strength as the temperature decreases. As a result, fracture mechanism gradually changes from transgranular fracture to intergranular fracture. At −150 °C, the alloy shows apparent characteristics of intergranular fracture.

Metal contamination is widespread, but only a few studies have evaluated the toxicological risks of metals (Cd, Cu, and Pb) in earthworms from farmlands in North China (Hebei province). Amynthas hupeiensis, the dominant species in the study area, was used to determine the responses and detoxification mechanisms of uncontaminated (CK), and low (LM)-, and high (HM)-metal-contaminated soils following 7-, 14-, and 28-days exposure. Metal toxicity in LM and HM soils inhibited the biomass of A. hupeiensis. The concentrations of Cd in A. hupeiensis bodies indicated accumulated Cd appeared to remain steady with prolonged exposure, while Cu/Pb increased significantly with soil levels. Bioaccumulation occurred in the order Cd > Pb > Cu in LM soil, and in the order Cd > Cu ≈ Pb in HM soil, which was attributed to differences in available fractions between LM and HM soils. Physiological levels of biomarkers in A. hupeiensis were determined, including total protein (TP), glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and malondialdehyde (MDA). Deviations in GSH, GPx, and AChE were considered to denote sensitive biomarkers using the IBRv2 index. Metabolomics data (1H nuclear magnetic resonance-based) revealed changes in metabolites following 28-days exposure to LM and HM soils. Differences in metabolism in A. hupeiensis following exposure to LM and HM were related to energy metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid metabolism, inositol phosphate metabolism, and glutathione metabolism. Metal stress from LM and HM soils disturbed osmoregulation, resulting in oxidative stress, destruction of cell membranes and inflammation, and altered levels of amino acids required for energy by A. hupeiensis. These findings provide biochemical insights into the physiological and metabolic mechanisms underlying the ability of A. hupeiensis to resist metal stress, and for assessing the environmental risks of metal-contaminated soils in farmland in North China.

In this paper, the effects of two severe plastic deformation (SPD) methods, ECAP and FSP, on the microstructure evolution and tensile strength of an Al–6Mg–0.4Mn–0.25Sc–0.1Zr (wt.%) alloy are comparatively studied. The microstructure was characterized by SEM, EBSD, T-EBSD, TEM and HRTEM, and the tensile strength of the material was tested by uniaxial tensile testing machine. The results show that ECAP has a stronger grain refining effect than FSP. ECAP can refine the average grain size of Al–Mg-Sc alloys to about 1 μm, while the grain size of the FSP samples is mostly 2–3 μm. In addition, the effects of the two SPD methods on the second phase particles in the Al–Mg–Sc alloy are also different, but both methods will change the distribution and morphology of Al3(Sc, Zr) particles, which is due to the different deformation mechanisms of ECAP and FSP. The yield strength of the ECAP sample is higher than that of the FSP sample, but the elongation after fracture is slightly less than that of the FSP sample.

The development of multifunctional fluorescent chemosensors for the detection of multiple targets remains challenging but of great importance. In this paper, one novel coordination polymer (CP), denoted as [Cd2(edda)(phen)2]∙H2O (compound 1, H4edda = 5,5′ (ethane-1,2-diylbis(oxy)) diisophthalic acid, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) is successfully designed and prepared under hydrothermal conditions. Structural analysis indicates that compound 1 possesses a one-dimensional (1D) double chain structure, then self-assembles into a three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular framework via π…π interactions between phen molecules. Interestingly, compound 1 is found to be tolerant in wide range of acidic to alkaline aqueous solutions (pH = 2–13). Fluorescent spectral investigations reveal that compound 1 exhibits highly selective and sensitive fluorescence responses toward MnO4−, Cr(VI) ions, acetylacetone (acac) and ascorbic acid (AA) by fluorescence quenching in the aqueous phase. The detection limits are in the very low range, reaching μM level for the detection of MnO4−, Cr(VI) ions, nM for AA and ppm for acac detection. The distinguished multi-responsive performance suggests compound 1 to be a potential multifunctional probe. Furthermore, the possible quenching mechanisms have also been systematically investigated in this work.

The modified red mud was prepared by thermal reduction with coconut shell for Cr(VI) contaminated soil remediation. Significant reduction of Cr(VI) in soil was achieved for the modified red mud with an efficiency up to 100%. The mass ratio of the modified red mud to soil presents the greatest impact on Cr(VI) reduction in soil, followed by pH, and then the soil moisture. Under the conditions of pH = 4%, and 40% water content, the reduction of Cr(VI) in soil reached 99.37%with 10 wt% of the modified red mud (RM1C-T800(1 h)). Based on the X-ray diffraction spectrum, zero valence iron (ZVI) was detected in RM1C-T800(1 h). The characterization analysis showed that the originally tight and porous surface of RM1C-T800(1 h) became loose and flocculation state after the soil remediation. It implied that internal ZVI particles had recombined with Cr and gradually separated from the parent by exposing to the external surface of RM1C-T800(1 h). The decrease of Cr(VI)in soil was probably attributed to the adsorption and reduction of the ZVI in RM1C-T800(1 h) when mixing the Cr(VI) contaminated soil with RM1C-T800(1 h). The work offers an effective strategy for the resource utilization of solid waste and contaminated site remediation.

A novel biomass carbon (BC) modified Z-scheme g-C3N4/Co3O4 heterojunction photocatalyst (BC/g-C3N4/Co3O4) has been constructed via a facile approach. In addition, various kinds of characterization methods, including TEM, XPS, UV–vis DRS, VSM, photoluminescence spectra, photocurrent response, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, etc. are applied to investigate the morphology structure, optical property, magnetic properties and electronic properties of BC/g-C3N4/Co3O4. The BC/g-C3N4/Co3O4 is applied as novel photocatalyst to degrade various pollutants and it exhibits remarkable photocatalytic activity and stability as compared to pure g-C3N4 and Co3O4. Furthermore, the BC/g-C3N4/Co3O4 can be effectively separated from solution in favor of practical applications.

Here in we fabricated a high temperature flexible solid-state supercapacitor based on PAEK–PEG copolymers solid polymer electrolyte. As fabricated supercapacitor has excellent electrochemical performance at various operating temperature especially high temperature (120 °C).

Abstract Background A growing number of investigations have suggested a close link between cancer stem cells (CSCs), epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, the relationships between these physiological processes in bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA) remain unclear. Methods We first explored biomarkers of tumor stemness (TS) by single-cell sequencing analysis. Then, subtypes of bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA) were identified using clustering analysis based on TS biomarkers. The TS score was constructed using principal component analysis to quantify tumor stemness in BLCA. Then, meta-analysis was performed to measure the hazard ratio of the TS score in BLCA cohorts. Moreover, we evaluated the clinical value of the TS score for predicting the response to tumor immunotherapy using immunotherapy cohorts. Finally, we built an EMT cell model by treating T24 cells with TGF-β and validated the relationship between the TS score and the EMT process in tumors by real-time quantitative PCR, cell invasion assays, and RNA-seq. In total, 3846 BLCA cells, 6 cell lines, 1627 BLCA samples, and 9858 samples from 32 other types of tumors were included in our study. Results Three TS clusters and two TS-related gene clusters were identified with differential EMT activity status, CSC features, and TME characteristics in BLCA. Then, a TS scoring system was established with 61 TS-related genes to quantify the TS. The prognostic value of the TS score was then confirmed in multiple independent cohorts. A high TS score was associated with high EMT activity, CSC characteristics, high stromal cell content, high TP53 mutation rate, poor prognosis, and high tumor immunotherapy tolerance. The cell line experiment and RNA-seq further validated that our TS score can reflect the EMT and CSC characterization of tumor cells. Conclusion Overall, this research provides a better understanding of tumor invasion and metastasis mechanisms through an analysis of TS patterns with different EMT processes and CSC characteristics. The TS score provides an index for EMT and CSC research and helps clinicians develop treatment plans and predict outcomes for patients.

As a hotspot issue of global concern, the abuse of environmental and biological related molecules, including antibiotics, small organic molecules and inorganic anions poses a severe threat to the biological health and ecological environment. Accurate and effective monitoring of these species is of great significance. In this study, one novel nickel(II)-based coordination polymer [Ni(H2edda)2(Hbmoe)2] (Ni-CP) has been successfully designed and synthesized by using the mixed ligands 5,5′-(ethane-1,2-diylbis(oxy)) diisophthalic acid (H4edda) and 1,1′-bis(1H-benzimidazolyl) oxydiethane (bmoe). Significantly, this framework reveals great thermal and chemical stability and can retain its structural integrity when immersed in water or even in a certain acid/base aqueous solution (pH = 2-13) for a period of time. As expected, this material also exhibits strong fluorescence. Further investigations indicate that as-synthesized Ni-CP can be served as a multi-responsive sensing platform for the highly selective and sensitive detection of nitrofurazone (NFZ), acetylacetone (ACAC), MnO4− and Cr(VI) in aqueous media. The mechanisms for fluorescence quenching have been disclosed through thorough experimental and computational investigations.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a chronic condition that can lead to significant harm, such as heart disease, kidney disease, nerve damage, and blindness. Although T2D-related genes have been identified through Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and various computational methods, the biological mechanism of T2D at the cell type level remains unclear. Exploring cell type-specific genes related to T2D is essential to understand the cellular mechanisms underlying the disease. To address this issue, we introduce DiGCellNet (predicting Disease Genes with Cell type specificity based on biological Networks), a model that integrates graph convolutional network (GCN) and multi-task learning (MTL) to predict T2D-associated cell type-specific genes based on the biological network. Our work represents the first attempt to predict cell type-specific disease genes using GCN and MTL. We evaluate our approach by predicting genes specific to four cell types and demonstrate that the proposed DiGCellNet outperforms other models that combine node embeddings with traditional machine learning algorithms. Moreover, DiGCellNet successfully identifies CALM1 as a gene specific to beta cell type in T2D cases, and this association is confirmed using an independent dataset. The code is available at https://github.com/23AIBox/23AIBox-DiGCellNet.

Metal oxide semiconductor hetero- and homojunctions are commonly constructed to improve the performance of hydrogen sensors at room temperature. In this study, a simple two-step hydrothermal method was employed to prepare TiO2 films with homojunctions of rutile and anatase phases (denoted as TiO2-R/A). Then, the microstructure of anatase-phase TiO2 was altered by controlling the amount of hydrochloric acid to realize a more favorable porous structure for charge transport and a larger surface area for contact with H2. The sensor used a Pt interdigital electrode. At an optimal HCl dosage (25 mL), anatase-phase TiO2 uniformly covered rutile-phase TiO2 nanorods, resulting in a greater response to H2 at 2500 ppm compared with that of a rutile TiO2 nanorod sensor by a factor of 1153. The response time was 21 s, mainly because the homojunction formed by the TiO2 rutile and anatase phases increased the synergistic effect of the charge transfer and potential barrier between the two phases, resulting in the formation of more superoxide (O2−) free radicals on the surface. Furthermore, the porous structure increased the surface area for H2 adsorption. The TiO2-R/A-based sensor exhibited high selectivity, long-term stability, and a fast response. This study provides new insights into the design of commercially competitive hydrogen sensors.

It is generally difficult to define reasonable parameters and interpret their values in mathematical models of social phenomena. Rather than directly fitting abstract parameters against empirical data, we should define some concrete parameters to denote the sociocultural factors relevant for particular phenomena, and compute the values of these parameters based upon the corresponding empirical data. Taking the example of modeling studies of language competition, we propose a language diffusion principle and two language inheritance principles to compute two critical parameters, namely the impacts and inheritance rates of competing languages, in our language competition model derived from the Lotka–Volterra competition model in evolutionary biology. These principles assign explicit sociolinguistic meanings to those parameters and calculate their values from the relevant data of population censuses and language surveys. Using four examples of language competition, we illustrate that our language competition model with thus-estimated parameter values can reliably replicate and predict the dynamics of language competition, and it is especially useful in cases lacking direct competition data.

A novel carbon modified Co3O4/BiVO4 p-n heterojunction photocatalyst (Co3O4/BiVO4/C) is prepared via one-step method. The Co3O4/BiVO4/C photocatalyst is characterized by SEM, Raman, UV–vis DRS, electrochemical performance analysis and so forth. In addition, the optimum activity of the Co3O4/BiVO4/C p-n heterojunction is higher than that of pure Co3O4 and BiVO4 for the degradation of tetracycline under visible light. The improved photocatalytic property could be ascribed to the enhanced light absorption and the facilitated separation of photogenerated charge carriers through forming a p-n heterojunction. Furthermore, the Co3O4/BiVO4/C has superior magnetic properties, recyclability and stability, which is conducive to practical application.

Covalent functionalization of graphene oxide with aminopropylisobutyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane efficiently reduced the dielectric constant of the polymer matrix.

Employing additive to regulate the morphology of perovskite film is an effective method to enhance both the power conversion efficiency and long term stability of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells. Here, we demonstrate that guanidinium thiocyanate (GuSCN) is a suitable additive for methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) perovskite materials. Addition of GuSCN into MAPbI3 can simultaneously enhance the crystallinity, enlarge the crystal size, and reduce the trap density of the perovskite films. As a result, the MAPbI3 perovskite with 10% GuSCN exhibits superior power conversion efficiency of 16.70% compared to the pristine MAPbI3 perovskite solar cell (15.57%). At the same time, the MAPbI3 perovskite solar cell with GuSCN additive shows better stability, power conversion efficiency retains ∼90% of its initial value compared to only ∼60% for pristine MAPbI3 perovskite solar cells after being stored for 15 days without encapsulation.

In recent years, catalytic hydrolysis of sodium borohydride is considered to be a promising approach for hydrogen generation towards fuel cell devices, and highly efficient and noble-metal-free catalysts have attracted increasing attention. In our present work, Co3O4 nanocubes are synthesized by solvothermal method, and then vapor-phase phosphorization treatment is carried out for the preparation of novel Co−O−P composite nanocatalysts composed of multiple active centers including Co, CoO, and Co2P. For catalyst characterization, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectric spectroscopy (XPS) are conducted. Optimal conditions for catalyst preparation and application were investigated in detail. At room temperature (25 °C), maximum hydrogen generation rate (HGR) is measured to be 4.85 L min−1 g−1 using a 4 wt% NaBH4 − 8 wt% NaOH solution, which is much higher than that of conventional catalysts with single component reported in literature. It is found that HGR remarkably increases with the increasing of reaction temperature, and apparent activation energy for catalytic hydrolysis of NaBH4 is calculated to be 63 kJ mol−1. After reusing for five times, the Co−O−P composite nanocatalysts still retains 78% of the initial activity.

A water-stable ZnII-based coordination polymer (CP) with excellent photophysical behavior, namely [Zn2L(atez)(H2O)2] (compound 1; H3L = 4-(2',3'-dicarboxylphenoxy); atez = 5-aminotetrazole), was successfully prepared by the solvothermal reaction of Zn ions with a π-conjugated and semi-rigid multicarboxylate ligand H3L in the presence of N-containing linker atez. Compound 1 displays a hierarchically pillared three-dimensional (3D) (3,4,5)-connected (4·62) (42·64) (43·64·83) net which is based on two-dimensional (2D) multicarboxylate- ZnII layers strutted by the atez ligands. Sensing investigations of compound 1 reveal that this material can selectively and sensitively detect nitroaromatic compounds in water suspension through fluorescence quenching effect. In particular, it is worth noting that it shows highly specific detection of nitrobenzene (NB) and 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) with remarkable quenching constants (KSV = 7.5 × 104 M-1 for NB and KSV = 1.9 × 105 M-1 for TNP) and low limit of detection (LOD = 0.93 μM for NB and LOD = 0.36 μM for TNP). Investigations reveal that the probable mechanisms for such sensing processes are the concurrent presence of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) as well as photoinduced electron transfer (PET) between the CP and nitroaromatic molecules. This work not only offers an effective route to improve the application of fluorescent CPs but also provide one novel probable fluorescence probe for nitroaromatic compounds.

The effect of Cu content on intergranular corrosion (IGC) and exfoliation corrosion (EXCO) susceptibility of Al−Zn−Mg−(Cu) alloys was investigated by electrochemical test, immersion test, electron backscattered diffraction, optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, scanning transmission electron microscope and scanning Kelvin probe force microscope. As Cu content increases from 0 to 2.6 wt.%, IGC susceptibility increases, while EXCO susceptibility first increases and then decreases, reaching the maximum at Cu content of 1 wt.%. With the increase of Cu content, the area fraction of recrystallized grains increases, and the aspect ratio of recrystallized grains first decreases and then increases; moreover, the Volta potential difference between grain boundary precipitates (GBPs) and the matrix increases, making GBPs more susceptible to corrosion. The initiation and propagation of IGC and EXCO are discussed mainly based on the features of GBPs, grain structure, and the Volta potential difference between GBPs and the matrix.

A diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) device with polyquaternary ammonium salt (PQAS) as a novel binding agent (PQAS DGT) combined with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) was developed for the selective sampling and measurement of Cr (VI) in water. The performance of PQAS DGT was independent of pH 3-12 and ionic strength from 1 × 10(-3) to 1 molL(-1). DGT validation experiments showed that Cr (VI) was measured accurately as well as selectively by PQAS DGT, whereas Cr (III) was not determined quantitatively. Compared with diphenylcarbazide spectrophotometric method (DPC), the measurement of Cr (VI) with PQAS DGT was agreement with that of DPC method in the industrial wastewater. PQAS-DGT device had been successfully deployed in local freshwater. The concentrations of Cr (VI) determined by PQAS DGT coupled with GFAAS in Nuer River, Ling River and North Lake were 0.73 ± 0.09 μg L(-1), 0.50 ± 0.07 μg L(-1) and 0.61 ± 0.07 μg L(-1), respectively. The results indicate that PQAS DGT device can be used for the selective sampling and measurement Cr (VI) in water and its detection limit is lower than that of DPC method.

Ammonia is a potential hydrogen carrier and can be used as an alternative fuel. In this study, plasma cooperative catalytic synthesis ammonia was used. The catalyst consisted of Ni impregnated into silica, using one of three complexing agents (TEPA, EDTA and GLY) and compared with conventional impregnation methods. The unsaturated coordinated Ni(tepa)2+ will coordinate with the hydroxyl groups on the silica surface. When using the catalyst prepared by TEPA, the ammonia synthesis rate was 3.8 times higher than with no catalyst, and 1.4 times higher than the catalyst made by conventional impregnation method. XRD and TEM show that the catalyst prepared using TEPA exhibited the smaller metal particle size, the higher dispersion and the stronger interaction between metal and support than other catalysts. XPS indicate that the good metal dispersion of the catalyst facilitate form more Ni3N during the reaction, which will greatly improve the activity of the catalyst.

The impact toughness and fracture behavior of an Al–Mg-Sc alloy at two different temperatures were investigated. The results reveal that the maximum load at room temperature is slightly higher than that at 120 °C. The total impact displacement for complete fracture of the alloy at room temperature is shorter than that at 120 °C. For fracture, the shear lip area of the room temperature sample is smaller than that of the 120 °C sample. Also, the percentage of intergranular fracture at room temperature is higher than that at 120 °C and the degree of plastic deformation was more severe for the 120 °C sample.

Psb28 is a soluble protein in the photosystem II (PSII) complex, but its role in the drought stress response of wheat remains unclear. Here, we functionally characterized the TaPsb28 gene, which positively regulates drought tolerance in wheat. When the full-length 546-bp TaPsb28 cDNA was transferred into Arabidopsis thaliana, it was located in the guard cell chloroplast around the stroma. Overexpression of TaPsb28 conferred drought tolerance, as exhibited by the increases in the survival rate. Transgenic plants maintained lower MDA content and higher chlorophyll content by inducing chlorophyll synthase (ChlG) gene transcription. The content of abscisic acid (ABA) and zeatin increased significantly in wild-type (WT) plants under drought stress, and the transcriptional expression levels of RD22, dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR) and anthocyanin reductase (ANR) genes were induced, thus enhancing the contents of endogenous cyanidin, delphinidin, and proanthocyanidins. However, in transgenic plants, although anthocyanins were further aggregated, the ABA increase was inhibited, zeatin was restored to the control level under drought stress, and stomatal closure was promoted. These findings indicate ABA and zeatin have opposite synergistic effects in the process of drought tolerance caused by TaPsb28 because only after the effect of zeatin is alleviated can ABA better play its role in promoting anthocyanin accumulation and stomatal closure, thus enhancing the drought tolerance of transgenic plants. The results suggest that overexpression of TaPsb28 exerts a positive role in the drought response by influencing the functional metabolism of endogenous hormones. The understanding acquired through the research laid a foundation for further in-depth investigation of the function of TaPsb28 in drought resistance in wheat, especially its relationship with anthocyanidin accumulation.

Herein, a Janus cotton fabric (JCF) with polypyrrole (PPy) layer was prepared through one-side ultrasonic atomization deposition followed by the in-situ polymerization. The PPy layer was robust on the fabric and showed excellent light absorbance ability (∼99%). And the JCF with 60 min one-side deposition (JCF-60) showed good photothermal conversion ability with the vapor generation rate of 1.45 kg m−2h−1 and the photothermal conversion efficiency of 91.0% in dyed water purification. It can be expected to large scale applications in solar-driven water evaporation.

The integration of different shape manipulation could greatly expand the versatility and functionality of smart materials, for which the achievement of synergism of different shape control is crucial. Here, we seek to create one kind of polyimide with integrated multiple shape manipulations by constructing the chemical network bearing azobenzene as a side chain. Trifunctional cross-linkers serving as net points of the chemical network render polyimide thermal-induced shape memory effects, which enables shape transformation. Azobenzene as a photoresponsive group is employed to achieve the photofixity and reversible photodeformability. Such photosensitive behaviors are independent of molecular prealignment and remain available after thermally shaping and fixing. As a result, these noninterfering performances induced by heat and light allow us to arbitrarily combine them to meet different needs. By integrating different shape manipulations, various shape changes and functional execution are conveniently achieved. The combination of the shape memory effect with photofixity enables the setting of diverse shapes, while the merging of it with reversible deformation facilitates the construction of actuators capable of executing functions. This study provides a new approach for the preparation of multifunctional actuators and has potential applications in the field of intelligent drivers.

Abstract Tibetan highlanders, including Tibetans, Monpas, Lhobas, Dengs and Sherpas, are considered highly adaptive to severe hypoxic environments. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) might be important in hypoxia adaptation given its role in coding core subunits of oxidative phosphorylation. In this study, we employed 549 complete highlander mtDNA sequences (including 432 random samples) to obtain a comprehensive view of highlander mtDNA profile. In the phylogeny of a total of 36,914 sequences, we identified 21 major haplogroups representing founding events of highlanders, most of which were coalesced in 10 kya. Through founder analysis, we proposed a three-phase model of colonizing the plateau, i.e., pre-LGM Time (30 kya, 4.68%), post-LGM Paleolithic Time (16.8 kya, 29.31%) and Neolithic Time (after 8 kya, 66.01% in total). We observed that pathogenic mutations occurred far more frequently in 22 highlander-specific lineages (five lineages carrying two pathogenic mutations and six carrying one) than in the 6,857 haplogroups of all the 36,914 sequences (P = 4.87 × 10 −8 ). Furthermore, the number of possible pathogenic mutations carried by highlanders (in average 3.18 ± 1.27) were significantly higher than that in controls (2.82 ± 1.40) (P = 1.89 × 10 −4 ). Considering that function-altering and pathogenic mutations are enriched in highlanders, we therefore hypothesize that they may have played a role in hypoxia adaptation.

Procedures used to prepare mixed matrix membranes with <italic>in situ</italic> self-assembled polymeric nanoparticles.

Two new carbazole alkaloids (1,2) and six known carbazole alkaloids (3-8) were isolated from Clausena anisum-olens. Their structures were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analysis. All isolated compounds (1-8) were evaluated for their anti-HIV effects on virus replication in MT-4 lymphocytes infected by HIV-1NL4-3 Nanoluc-sec virus, and new carbazole alkaloid 1 exhibited anti-HIV activity with an EC50 value of 2.4 μg/mL and SI of 7.1.

This article reported a new spin-valley Dirac semimetal in strained group-VA monolayer, leading to the Dirac spin-valley Hall effect with dissipationless transport.

The effect of quenching rate on strengthening behavior of an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy 7085 during natural ageing has been investigated by hardness, tensile testing, differential scanning calorimetry, transmission electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and three dimensional atom probe. Quench-induced Y phase forms in the air-cooled condition and contributes a remarkable 100 MPa to the as-quenched strength. The air-cooled condition continues to exhibit higher hardness and strength than for the rapid, water-cooled condition during natural ageing for up to about 30000 h. With the increase of natural ageing time, the hardness difference tends to decrease slowly within the first 0.5 h, then sharply until about 20 h, and finally approaches a constant, small difference. The reasons for this unusual quench sensitivity are discussed based on the different precipitation features arising during quenching and natural ageing.

(1) Introduction: New and innovative approaches to dental education have continued to improve with time. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic forced dental education to change as social distancing implementations were enforced. Virtual reality was used as a resource before the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has become more essential due to social restrictions. Virtual reality can allow students to be fully immersed in a clinical environment without leaving their homes. (2) Methods: The development of virtual reality (VR) for implant surgery was described. Selected students filled out a survey before and after using the program. Then, a focus group discussion for the students was held to analyze the program further. (3) Results: Seven dental students enrolled in the Advanced Predoctoral Implant Program (APIP) participated in the study. Qualitative analysis of this study suggests that virtual reality can be used as a supplemental resource to enhance student learning of specific topics. Additionally, the students had positive outlooks for using virtual reality as a resource in dental education and were hopeful to use it in the future for particular topics and subjects. (4) Discussion: The advantages and disadvantages of VR application in education were described. This application allows the students to be immersed fully with virtual dental operatory. The application provides the student with an enhanced learning experience in implant dentistry. Students displayed supportive attitudes towards the applicability of VR in dental education but considered this application as an adjunctive tool for learning. (5) Conclusion: The application of this technology in dental education is promising. The use of virtual reality in teaching and learning implant dentistry offers positive enhancement, especially during these challenging times.

For iris recognition in non-cooperative environments, iris segmentation has been regarded as the first most important challenge still open to the biometric community, affecting all downstream tasks from normalization to recognition. In recent years, deep learning technologies have gained significant popularity among various computer vision tasks and also been introduced in iris biometrics, especially iris segmentation. To investigate recent developments and attract more interest of researchers in the iris segmentation method, we organized the 2021 NIR Iris Challenge Evaluation in Non-cooperative Environments: Segmentation and Localization (NIR-ISL 2021) at the 2021 International Joint Conference on Biometrics (IJCB 2021). The challenge was used as a public platform to assess the performance of iris segmentation and localization methods on Asian and African NIR iris images captured in non-cooperative environments. The three best-performing entries achieved solid and satisfactory iris segmentation and localization results in most cases, and their code and models have been made publicly available for reproducibility research.

The accumulation of Co 3+ and PO 4 during phase reconstruction on amorphous cobalt phosphates makes contribution to the energy-efficient NH 3 electrosynthesis.

Medicinal plants are invaluable resources for mankind and play a crucial role in combating diseases. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are widely recognized for enhancing the production of medicinal active ingredients in medicinal plants. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the quantitative effects of AMF on the accumulation of medicinal active ingredients. Here we conducted a comprehensive global analysis using 233 paired observations to investigate the impact of AMF inoculation on the accumulation of medicinal active ingredients. This study revealed that AMF inoculation significantly increased the contents of medicinal active ingredients by 27%, with a particularly notable enhancement observed in flavonoids (68%) and terpenoids (53%). Furthermore, the response of medicinal active ingredients in belowground organs (32%) to AMF was more pronounced than that in aboveground organs (18%). Notably, the AMF genus Rhizophagus exhibited the strongest effect in improving the contents of medicinal active ingredients, resulting in an increase of over 50% in both aboveground and belowground organs. Additionally, the promotion of medicinal active ingredients by AMF was attributed to improvements in physiological factors, such as chlorophyll, stomatal conductance and net photosynthetic rate. Collectively, this research substantially advanced our comprehension of the pivotal role of AMF in improving the medicinal active ingredients of plants and provided valuable insights into the potential mechanisms driving these enhancements.

Objective: To update the meta-analysis comparing the effectiveness of oral appliance (OA) with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in treating patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Methods: PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, Ovid, EBSCO Dentistry & Oral Science Source, The Cochrane Library, and Embase database were searched for RCTs until 23 May 2017. Meta-analyses were performed using RevMan 5.3. Results: Sixteen RCTs were included. Compared with OA, CPAP significantly decreased AHI, min SaO2, ARI, ESS (p < 0.05), with no significant difference in REM%, FOSQ, BP (p ≥ 0.05). OA significantly improved REM% in the severe groups and ESS in the adjustable OA group (p < 0.05). OA shared greater preference. Conclusion: Even though CPAP can better decrease the severity of OSA, more patients opted for OA, which showed better results in severe patients, especially adjustable OA.

The recrystallization behaviour and Al3(Sc, Zr) particles were studied by annealing the samples with different deformation ways. Two samples were studied, cold rolling (CR) and equal channel angular pressing (ECAP). The ECAP sample has higher dislocation density, leading to the results that the ECAP sample is recrystallized thoroughly whereas the CR sample is only recrystallized partly. Additionally, the morphology of Al3(Sc, Zr) particles are changed after the recrystallization. Almost all the Al3(Sc, Zr) particles in ECAP sample are incoherent and large, losing pinning effect, but those in the CR sample just grow up a bit and pin the grain boundaries (GBs) strongly.

Nodal-line half-metals (NLHMs) are highly desirable for future spintronic devices due to their exotic quantum properties. However, the experimental realization in spin-polarized materials is nontrivial to date. Herein we perform first-principles calculations to demonstrate a 2D honeycomb, AgN, as a promising candidate of NLHMs, which is thermodynamically and dynamically stable. Band structure analysis reveals that two concentric NLs coexist centered at a Γ point near EF, accompanied by the electron and hole pockets that touch each other linearly with single-spin components. Inclusion of SOC can enrich the electronic structures of AgN, sensitive to the protection of mirror reflection symmetry: the NLHM survives if the spin is perpendicular to the Mz mirror plane, while it tunes into Wyle nodal-points by rotating spins from the out-of-plane to the in-plane direction. The characteristics of HM and NL can be well maintained on semiconducting h-BN and is immune to mechanical strains. These tunable magnetic properties render 2D AgN suitable for exotic quantum transports in nodal fermions as well as related spintronic devices.

Al–Mg–Sc alloy ingots were compressed 80% at different strain rates (1/s, 0.01/s and 0.0001/s) and different temperatures (300 °C and 450 °C). The microstructure was characterized by SEM, EBSD, XRD and TEM. The EBSD results show that the samples with a deformation rate of 0.01/s have the largest number of tiny equiaxed grains at the grain boundaries, but the equiaxed grains in the 0.0001/s sample are less and larger. This indicates that the number of new equiaxed grains does not always increase with decreasing strain rate. Furthermore, the TEM results confirmed that the recrystallization mechanism with a strain rate of 0.0001/s is similar to in situ recrystallization. The XRD results show that with the increase of temperature and the decrease of strain rate, there are fewer dislocations in the samples after thermal deformation. The particle stimulated recrystallization is also different in the 0.01/s sample and the 0.0001/s sample. Furthermore, at a strain rate of 0.0001/s, a large number of fine Al3(Sc,Zr) particles appear, which is due to the dynamic precipitation during slow thermal deformation.

Low activity of anaerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB) at low temperature is still an obstacle to the application of a single stage partial nitritation anammox (SPNA) process. In order to improve the performance of nitrogen removal of this system at low ambient temperature, the glycine betaine (GB) was added into a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) at 13–15 °C. At 15 °C, the nitrogen removal rate (NRR) was increased from 0.48 to 0.62 g N/(L·d) by adding 1 mM GB with the nitrogen loading rate of 0.81 g N/(L·d). The activity of hydrazine oxidase (HZO) was enhanced from 15.78 to 19.81 μmol Cyt-c/(g VSS·min), while the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production was reduced from 290.31 to 109.06 mg/g VSS after exogenous GB. When the temperature was <15 °C, however, the promoting effect of 1 mM GB was weakened, and the NRR was 0.43 g N/(L·d) at 13 °C. Increasing the addition of GB to 1.5 mM did not improve nitrogen removal performance at 13 °C, whereas it promoted the enrichment of heterotrophic bacteria (HB). Overall, results suggested GB had the potential to enhance the metabolic capability of AnAOB, which provided a novel strategy for improving the nitrogen removal performance of SPNA system at low temperature.

Six new cardenolides (1-6), including three 14-hydroxylated cardenolides and three 14-carbonylated cardenolides were isolated from the dried aerial parts of Nerium oleander Linn in addition to twenty-seven known compounds (7-33). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic evidences and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Compounds 1, 4, 7-10 and 13 exhibited significant cytotoxicity against four colon cancer cell lines (HCT116, HT29, SW620, RKO), one gastric cancer cell line (GT) and one cervical cancer cell line (HeLa) in vitro.

High-altitude headache (HAH) is the most common sickness occurred in healthy people after rapid ascending to high altitude, and its risk factors were still not well understood. To investigate physiological, hematological and biochemical risk factors associated with high-altitude headache (HAH) after acute exposure to 3700 m, we conducted a two-stage, perspective observational study. In 72 h, total 318 young Han Chinese males ascended from sea level (altitude of 50 m) to altitude of 3700 m by train. Demographic data, physiological, hematological and biochemical parameters of all participants were collected within one week prior to the departure, and within 24 h after arrival.The incidence of HAH was 74.84%. For parameters measured at sea level, participants with HAH exhibited significantly higher age and lower BUN (p < 0.05). For parameters measured at 3700 m, participants with HAH exhibited significantly lower blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), higher resting heart rate (HR), higher systolic blood pressure at resting (SBP) and lower blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (all p < 0.05). At 3700 m, the severity of HAH associated with SpO2, HR and BUN significantly (all p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression revealed that for parameters at sea level, BUN was associated with HAH [BUN (OR:0.77, 95% CI:0.60-0.99)] and for parameters at 3700 m, SpO2, HR and BUN were associated with HAH independently [SpO2 (OR:0.84, 95% CI:0.76-0.93); HR (OR:1.03, 95% CI:1.00-1.07); BUN (OR:0.64, 95% CI:0.46-0.88)]. No association between hematological parameters and HAH was observed.We confirmed that higher HR, lower SpO2 are independent risk factors for HAH. Furthermore, we found that at both 50 m and 3700 m, lower BUN is a novel independent risk factor for HAH, providing new insights for understanding the pathological mechanisms.

In recent years, with rapid urbanization, the underlying urban surface has changed dramatically. Various urban eco-environmental problems have emerged globally, among which the urban heat island effect has become one of the most obvious urban eco-environmental problems. In this study, Nanjing, China, was chosen as the study area. Based on Landsat 8 remote sensing image data collected in Nanjing from 2014 to 2018, land surface temperatures were retrieved, the spatiotemporal variation track and characteristics of the thermal environment pattern were systematically depicted, and the driving factors of these variations were revealed. The results show that over the past five years, the spatial pattern of the heat field in Nanjing changed from a scattered distribution in the periphery of the city to a centralized distribution in the centre of the city, and the heat island intensity increased annually. Changes in administrative divisions, changes in the layout of the transportation trunk lines, transfer of industrial centres, and ecological construction projects are important driving factors for the evolution of the land surface thermal environment patterns of these regions. These research results will provide scientific and technological support for similar cities with typical heat island effects elsewhere in the world to formulate urban development plan, and to improve the urban ecological environment.

Altitude acclimatization is a human physiological process of adjusting to the decreased oxygen availability. Since several physiological processes are involved and their correlations are complicated, the analyses of single traits are insufficient in revealing the complex mechanism of high-altitude acclimatization. In this study, we examined these physiological responses as the composite phenotypes that are represented by a linear combination of physiological traits. We developed a strategy that combines both spectral clustering and partial least squares path modeling (PLSPM) to define composite phenotypes based on a cohort study of 883 Chinese Han males. In addition, we captured 14 composite phenotypes from 28 physiological traits of high-altitude acclimatization. Using these composite phenotypes, we applied k-means clustering to reveal hidden population physiological heterogeneity in high-altitude acclimatization. Furthermore, we employed multivariate linear regression to systematically model (Models 1 and 2) oxygen saturation (SpO2) changes in high-altitude acclimatization and evaluated model fitness performance. Composite phenotypes based on Model 2 fit better than single trait-based Model 1 in all measurement indices. This new strategy of using composite phenotypes may be potentially employed as a general strategy for complex traits research such as genetic loci discovery and analyses of phenomics.

Mycorrhizal strategies include mycorrhizal statuses and mycorrhizal types, which are important reflections of the functional characteristics of ecosystems. The stoichiometry of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in plant organs is an important part of ecosystem functions, which has an important impact on the nutrient cycle of the ecosystem. The concentration of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus played a crucial role in ecosystem functioning and dynamics. The purpose of this study is to provide theoretical basis and data support for improving the properties of global terrestrial ecosystems by exploring the impact of mycorrhizal strategies on the stoichiometry of C, N, and P in different shrub organs. In this study, stoichiometric patterns of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in different shrub organs under different mycorrhizal status or types were analyzed at 725 samples across Northern China. Results showed that in different mycorrhizal status, the highest carbon concentration in shrub organs appeared in the facultatively mycorrhizal (FM) mycorrhizal status, and the highest nitrogen concentration appeared in the Non-mycorrhizal (NM) mycorrhizal status. Under different mycorrhizal types, the nitrogen concentration in the shrub organs under the arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) mycorrhizal type was the highest, and the phosphorus concentration under the ecto-mycorrhiza (ECM) mycorrhizal type was the highest. In the OM or FM mycorrhizal status, the concentrations of C, N, and P in the stems and leaves increase with the increase of the concentrations of C, N, and P in the roots. In the NM mycorrhizal status, the N concentration in the stems and leaves increases with the increase of the N concentration in the roots. Under AM, AM+ECM, and ECM mycorrhizal type, the concentrations of C, N, and P are closely related in roots, stems and leaves. The content of plant nutrients in different organs is closely related. It turned out that mycorrhizal statuses or types are able to alter the allocation of C, N, and P in different organs, and the relationships of C, N, and P among different organs are able to present different trend with the varying of mycorrhizal statuses or types.

This research explored how perceived homophily and reverence of consumers bridge the gap between endorser characteristics and consumer-celebrity para-social interaction (PSI). Online surveys were utilized to collect data from consumers. The results based on structural equation modeling showed that the perceived attractiveness and expertise of a celebrity were separately antecedent to the perceived homophily and reverence of consumers for the celebrity. This in turn allowed consumers to build PSI with the celebrity and led to a positive attitude toward the celebrity-endorsed brand. No differences were found between non-fans and fans of the selected celebrity regarding the confirmed path from celebrity characteristics to consumer brand attitude via PSI and its influencing factors. This work highlighted the significance of consumer-celebrity relations for endorsement effectiveness through proving consumer-celebrity PSI and its drivers as indispensable steps in the endorsement process.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media has become an emerging platform for the public to find information, share opinions, and seek coping strategies. Vaccination, one of the most effective public health interventions to control the COVID-19 pandemic, has become the focus of public online discussions. Several studies have demonstrated that social bots actively involved in topic discussions on social media and expressed their sentiments and emotions, which affected human users. However, it is unclear whether social bots’ sentiments affect human users’ sentiments of COVID-19 vaccines. This study seeks to scrutinize whether the sentiments of social bots affect human users’ sentiments of COVID-19 vaccines. The work identified social bots and built an innovative computational framework, i.e., the BERT-CNN sentiment analysis framework, to classify tweet sentiments at the three most discussed stages of COVID-19 vaccines on Twitter from December 2020 to August 2021, thus exploring the impacts of social bots on online vaccine sentiments of humans. Then, the Granger causality test was used to analyze whether there was a time-series causality between the sentiments of social bots and humans. The findings revealed that social bots can influence human sentiments about COVID-19 vaccines. Their ability to transmit the sentiments on social media, whether in the spread of positive or negative tweets, will have a corresponding impact on human sentiments.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep-related breathing disorder characterized by intermittent and recurrent upper airway collapse during sleep that leads to chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH). The genioglossus (GG) is the largest dilator muscle, which controls the upper airway and plays an important role in OSA pathology. Elucidating its genetic alterations may help identify potential targets for OSA. However, the genetic aspects of the GG in CIH mice remain unclear. Here, we have conducted an RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis to assess the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the GG between CIH mice and normoxia (NOR) mice. A total of 637 DEGs were identified to be dysregulated in CIH mice compared with control mice. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the DEGs were related to various physiological processes, such as the endogenous stimulus responses, cellular component organization and metabolic processes. Extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction was the top KEGG pathway in the environmental information processing category with high significance and large fold changes. From the gene weight distributions of collagen (Col)-related biological processes (BPs), we found several significant DEGs, such as Col1a1, Col1a2, Mmp2, Col3a1, Col5a1, Fmod, and Col5a2. A PPI network showed that Col1a1 was linked to ECM-receptor interactions, responses to reactive oxygen species (ROS) and Col-related BPs. It was verified in vivo and in vitro that hypoxia can induce excess ROS and reduce Col expression levels. Moreover, we found NAC can effectively scavenge ROS and restore collagen synthesis. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms linking OSA and upper airway muscle injury and may help identify potential therapeutic targets.

Dysphagia, one of the most common complications in head and neck cancer (HNC) treated with radiotherapy, can severely affect patients' quality of life. Currently, because no "gold standard" treatment exists, swallowing exercise remains the main rehabilitation strategy for dysphagia. However, patients' compliance with long-term swallowing exercise is only 40%, thus, greatly compromising outcomes. This article aims to analyze thefactors influencing swallowing exercise compliance in patients with HNC and explains strategies developed to date for improved rehabilitation outcomes.Research studies published between 2005 and 2022 were retrieved from seven databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, CNKI, Wan Fang Database, and VIP Database, and 21 articles were shortlisted and systematically reviewed.The swallowing exercise compliance in patients with HNC undergoing radiotherapy was affected by multiple factors, including socio-demographic factors, illness-associated factors, treatment-associated factors, and psychosocial factors. Regarding the interventions, current strategies mainly address psychosocial issues via developing various education programs.Different factors influencing swallowing exercise compliance are important and should be observed. Measures including developing multidisciplinary teams, applying innovative equipment, refining the intervention procedure, and applying systematic theory frameworks should be performed to achieve better outcomes of compliance interventions.

Background High-grade glioma (HGG) is a malignant brain tumor that is common and aggressive in children and adults. In the current medical paradigm, surgery and radiotherapy are the standard treatments for HGG patients. Despite this, the overall prognosis is still very bleak. Studies have shown that platelet-derived growth factor receptor α (PDGFRA) is an essential target to treat tumors and inhibiting the activity of PDGFRA can improve the prognosis of HGG. Thus, PDGFRA inhibitors are critical to developing drugs and cancer treatment. Objective The purpose of this study was to screen lead compounds and candidate drugs with potential inhibitors against platelet-derived growth factor receptor α (PDGFRA) from the drug library (ZINC database) in order to improve the prognosis of patients with high-grade glioma (HGG). Materials and methods In our study, we selected Imatinib as the reference drug. A series of computer-aided technologies, such as Discovery Studio 2019 and Schrodinger, were used to screen and assess potential inhibitors of PDGFRA. The first step was to calculate the LibDock scores and then analyze the pharmacological and toxicological properties. Following this, we docked the small molecules selected in the previous steps with PDGFRA to study their docking mechanism and affinity. In addition, molecular dynamics simulation was used to determine whether the ligand-PDGFRA complex was stable in nature. Results Two novel natural compounds 1 and 2 (ZINC000008829785 and ZINC000013377891) from the ZINC database were found binding to PDGFRA with more favorable interaction energy. Also, they were predicted with less Ames mutagenicity, rodent carcinogenicity, non-developmental toxic potential, and tolerant with cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6). The dynamic simulation analysis demonstrated that ZINC000008829785-PDGFRA and ZINC000013377891-PDGFRA dimer complex had more favorable potential energy compared with Imatinib, and they can exist in natural environments stably. Conclusion ZINC000008829785 and ZINC000013377891 might provide a solid foundation for drugs that inhibit PDGFRA in HGG. In addition to being safe drug candidates, these compounds had important implications for improving drugs targeting PDGFRA.

An Al-Mg-Sc-Zr alloy rolled sheet was subjected to friction stir welding (FSW) with a tool rotation speed of 500 r/min and a tool travel speed of 100 mm/min. The microstructure of the alloy sheet after FSW was characterized by OM, EBSD and TEM. The microhardness and strength were also tested. The results show that after the FSW, the fiber grains adjacent to the rotating tool are bent. The texture of the rolled sheet is gradually alleviated. In the nugget zone, the size of the tiny equiaxed grains is only 2.31 μm. Al3(Sc,Zr) particles are also affected by the FSW. The distribution and the size of the particles after the FSW are different from those of the original sheet. Moreover, the shape of the Al3(Sc,Zr) particles turns from spherical to polygonal and many particles become incoherent with the Al matrix. The tensile strength of the FSW sheet is 367 MPa and the yield strength is 263 MPa, and those of the original sheet are 414 and 311 MPa.

Core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) is commonly used to classify bacterial strains into different types, for taxonomical and epidemiological applications. However, cgMLST schemes require central databases for the nomenclature of new alleles and sequence types, which must be synchronized worldwide and involve increasingly intensive calculation and storage demands. Here, we describe a distributed cgMLST (dcgMLST) scheme that does not require a central database of allelic sequences and apply it to study evolutionary patterns of epidemic and endemic strains of the genus Neisseria. We classify 69,994 worldwide Neisseria strains into multi-level clusters that assign species, lineages, and local disease outbreaks. We divide Neisseria meningitidis into 168 endemic lineages and three epidemic lineages responsible for at least 9 epidemics in the past century. According to our analyses, the epidemic and endemic lineages experienced very different population dynamics in the past 100 years. Epidemic lineages repetitively emerged from endemic lineages, disseminated worldwide, and apparently disappeared rapidly afterward. We propose a stepwise model for the evolutionary trajectory of epidemic lineages in Neisseria, and expect that the development of similar dcgMLST schemes will facilitate epidemiological studies of other bacterial pathogens.

Herein, a novel fluorescent coordination polymer [Cu2(edda)(bpy)2]·6H2O (Cu-CP; H4edda = 5,5′-(ethane-1,2-diylbis(oxy)) diisophthalic acid; bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine) was designed and successfully architected using semi-rigid tetracarboxylic acid ligand H4edda combined with N,N′-donor linker bpy through a hydrothermal method. Single-crystal structural analysis reveals that the adjacent Cu1 centers are linked by 3′- and 5- carboxyl groups of edda4− linker to form a one-dimensional Cu(II)-edda4− chain, which is further strutted by 3- and 5′- carboxyl groups in edda4− ligand to generate a two-dimensional (2D) network with sql topology. Notably, bpy molecules do not actually dedicate to the formation of this 2D network, which merely saturate the configuration of Cu ions. Apart from the great thermal and acid/base stabilities, the π-conjugated nature of H4edda endows Cu-CP with the traits of strong fluorescent emission in both solid state and aqueous solution. Interestingly, Cu-CP can act as a multifunctional platform for effectively detecting nitrofurazone (NFZ), nitrofurantoin (NFT), Cr2O72−, CrO42− and MnO4− via fluorescence quenching effects in an aqueous system. The fabricated Cu-CP fluorescent sensor shows distinguished sensitivity and anti-interference performance as well as low detection limits (3.55 nM for NFZ; 1.02 nM for NFT; 0.58 μM for Cr2O72−, 0.68 μM for CrO42− and 4.59 μM for MnO4−). The underlying quenching mechanisms have been studied through in-depth experimental and computational researches.

The expression levels of microRNAs (miRNA) can provide insights into the occurrence, progression, and treatment efficacy in tumors, highlighting the need for precise and easily controllable detection methodologies. The reasonable design of carbon dots enables the precise manipulation of luminescence and surface characteristics. Herein, fluorine doped carbon dots (F-CDs) were designed and prepared to establish a reasonable control of the interaction force between DNA and F-CDs. F-CDs were synthesized through a hydrothermal reaction involving tetrafluoroterephthalic acid and tetraethylene pentaamine, resulting in noteworthy optical and amphiphilic properties. F-CDs proficiently interact with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) through hydrophobic interaction, leading to the quenching of dye labeled ssDNA, while maintaining self-fluorescence stability. The quenching mechanism was elucidated. The complementary DNA sequence induced nearly 100% desorption of ssDNA from F-CDs. Assisted by the target cycling signal amplification from duplex specific nuclease (DSN) and the self-fluorescence of F-CDs, an effective ratiometric strategy utilizing the adsorption system of F-CDs and probe DNA for let-7a was established for detecting let-7a, a critical miRNA in the assessment of tumor development. Under the optimized conditions, this method demonstrated high sensitivity and reproducibility in detecting let-7a with the linear range from 1.0 fM to 10.0 nM and a low limit of detection (LOD) of 3.0 fM. The recovery of let-7a in plasma and the evaluation of let-7a levels in seven cell types underscored the method's potential for efficient applications in monitoring of miRNA levels in real samples.

Cation-exchange resins have been used to recover nickel from electroplating wastewater, but resin regeneration often consumes a large amount of acid and alkali, resulting in low Ni(II) concentrations in regenerating solution. In this study, the industrial-scale Ni(II) recovery from electroplating wastewater using resin adsorption and regeneration was investigated. Two cation-exchange resin tanks and one chelated resin tank in series effectively reduced the nickel concentrations to below 0.1 mg/L. The spent resin could be efficiently regenerated by a novel aeration mixing method, greatly reducing acid and alkali consumption in comparison with the traditional downstream regeneration method. The spent resin was successfully regenerated by 2 bed volume (BV) of 6 % HCl, and the acid utilization ratio was above 99 %. More than 60 g/L of Ni(II) ions in regenerating solution was stably obtained, which benefited the subsequent nickel recovery by electrodeposition. Similarly, H2SO4 was also effective for Ni(II) desorption from the spent resins. The adsorption and regeneration cost was calculated to be ¥ 5.5–9.5/m3 for the electroplating wastewater containing 200–800 mg/L Ni(II) ions, much lower than that by chemical precipitation. This study provided an effective resin regeneration method to consume less regenerants and obtain higher Ni(II) concentrations, making the Ni(II) recovery cost-effective.

Biochar has been extensively studied in wastewater treatment systems. However, the role of biochar in the single-stage partial nitritation anammox (SPNA) system remains not fully understood. This study explored the impact of biochar on the SPNA at ambient temperatures (20 °C and 15 °C). The nitrogen removal rate of the system raised from 0.43 to 0.50 g N/(L·d) as the biochar addition was raised from 2 to 4 g/L. Metagenomic analysis revealed that gene abundances of amino sugar metabolism and nucleotide sugar metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and quorum sensing were decreased after the addition of biochar. However, the gene abundance of enzymes synthesizing NADH and trehalose increased, indicating that biochar could stimulate electron transfer reactions in microbial metabolism and assist microorganisms in maintaining a steady state at lower temperatures. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the mechanism behind the improved nitrogen removal facilitated by biochar in the single-stage partial nitritation anammox system.

Probing and enhancing large language models' reasoning capacity remains a crucial open question. Here we re-purpose the reverse dictionary task as a case study to probe LLMs' capacity for conceptual inference. We use in-context learning to guide the models to generate the term for an object concept implied in a linguistic description. Models robustly achieve high accuracy in this task, and their representation space encodes information about object categories and fine-grained features. Further experiments suggest that the conceptual inference ability as probed by the reverse-dictionary task predicts model's general reasoning performance across multiple benchmarks, despite similar syntactic generalization behaviors across models. Explorative analyses suggest that prompting LLMs with description$\Rightarrow$word examples may induce generalization beyond surface-level differences in task construals and facilitate models on broader commonsense reasoning problems.

Abstract To assess the level of supportive care needs of caregivers of colorectal cancer patients and explore the related key influencing factors. Totaling 283 caregivers of patients with colorectal cancer were investigated in this study. Firstly, caregivers were invited to complete a set of questionnaires, including the general information questionnaire, the Supportive Care Needs Survey-Partners and the Caregivers of cancer patients, the Caregiver Preparedness Scale, the Benefit Finding Scale, and the Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity. Univariate and multivariate linear regression were performed to investigate the associated factors of supportive care needs. The caregivers of patients with colorectal cancer have a moderate level of needs, scored at 2.71 ± 0.42. Caregiver preparedness, benefit finding, and financial toxicity were significantly negatively associated with the supportive care needs of caregivers ( r = − 0.555, P &lt; 0.001; r = − 0.534, P &lt; 0.001; and r = − 0.615, P &lt; 0.001, respectively). Our multivariate regression analysis identified some factors that directly affected the supportive care needs of caregivers, including the duration of illness, tumor stage, the age and educational level of caregivers, caregiver preparedness, benefit finding, and financial toxicity ( R 2 = 0.574, F = 23.337, P &lt; 0.001). Supportive care needs are common among caregivers of colorectal cancer patients. Higher caregiver preparedness, benefit finding, and financial toxicity tend to ease these needs. Healthcare workers should have an in-depth understanding of the needs of caregivers of colorectal cancer patients and actively provide targeted financial/informational/technical/emotional support to promote nursing skills and reduce caregivers’ burdens.

Earthworms play vital functions affecting plant growth and metal accumulation from downground to aboveground. Soil metal mobilization may be combined with use of earthworm and hyperaccumulator-Solanum nigrum to improve its remediation efficiency. Understanding the effects of specific-species earthworm belonging to different ecological categories on mechanisms underlying of S. nigrum is critical for metal-polluted remediation. However, seldom studies concerned earthworm-assisted phytoremediation of metal contaminated soil in Northern China. This study investigated the effects of earthworm (Eisenia fetida, Amynthas hupeiensis and Drawida gisti) on S. nigrum with exposure to uncontaminated and [Cd-As-Cu-Pb]-contaminated soil (referred to as S0 and S1) for 60 days, respectively. In S1 soil, A. hupeiensis (anecic) had stronger effects on growth and metal accumulation in the organs (root, stem, and leaf) of S. nigrum than D. gisti (endogeic) and E. fetida (epigeic), attributing to their ecological category. The BAF values of S. nigrum were generally ranking in Cd (0.66-5.13) > As (0.03-1.85) > Cu (0.03-0.06) > Pb (0.01-0.05); the BAFCd values were ranking in leaf (2.34-5.13) > root (1.96-4.14) > stem (0.66-1.33); BAFAs, BAFCu, and BAFPb were root (0.04-1.63) > stem (0.01-0.09) ≈ leaf (0.01-0.06). A. hupeiensis decreased the TF values of S. nigrum from the roots to the shoots. Co-effects of metal stress and earthworm activity on metal uptake by shoots suggested that A. hupeiensis increased the uptake of As, Cu, and Pb (by 56.3 %, 51.5 %, and 16.2 %, p < 0.05), but not Cd, which appeared to remain steady for prolonged durations. Alterations in the integrated biomarker response index version 2 (IBRv2) values demonstrated that A. hupeiensis (12.65) improved the resistance capacity (stimulated GSH, SnGS1, and SnCu-SOD) of S. nigrum under metal-containing conditions, compared with E. fetida and D. gisti (IBRv2 were 9.61 and 9.11). This study may provide insights into the patterns of 'soil-earthworm-plant system' on improving remediation efficiency of S. nigrum, from the perspective of earthworm ecological niche partitioning.

Hmong-Mien (HM) speakers are linguistically related and live primarily in China, but little is known about their ancestral origins or the evolutionary mechanism shaping their genomic diversity. In particular, the lack of whole-genome sequencing data on the Yao population has prevented a full investigation of the origins and evolutionary history of HM speakers. As such, their origins are debatable.Here, we made a deep sequencing effort of 80 Yao genomes, and our analysis together with 28 East Asian populations and 968 ancient Asian genomes suggested that there is a strong genetic basis for the formation of the HM language family. We estimated that the most recent common ancestor dates to 5800 years ago, while the genetic divergence between the HM and Tai-Kadai speakers was estimated to be 8200 years ago. We proposed that HM speakers originated from the Yangtze River Basin and spread with agricultural civilization. We identified highly differentiated variants between HM and Han Chinese, in particular, a deafness-related missense variant (rs72474224) in the GJB2 gene is in a higher frequency in HM speakers than in others.Our results indicated complex gene flow and medically relevant variants involved in the HM speakers' evolution history.

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Drainage is a common practice in geotechnical engineering concerning dredged marine soils. Current drainage techniques, including surcharge preloading, vacuum preloading, and combined vacuum-surcharge preloading, have been proven to be effective in soft soil treatment, but are also criticized for their high energy consumption. This paper made a brief review on existing drainage techniques and proposed some prospects for the next-generation techniques in response to the public concern of sustainability. It is found that all conventional preloading techniques have been well studied from tests to modeling, and improved vacuum preloading tends to be used in combination with other techniques. Drainage techniques with lower energy consumption can be realized either by using renewable energy or designing biomimetic devices. The paper is expected to provide a comprehensive while concise report on recent advances in drainage techniques for dredged marine soils and in the meanwhile give an insight into the further development towards a more sustainable future.

A novel method to effectively achieve synergistic SO2 reduction during the carbonation process by the as-designed CaO-biochar system is developed. Coconut shells and calcined-limestone were used as biochar and calcium sources (denoted as CSC and LS), respectively. The introduced reductant creates the reduction condition making the Ca-based sulfation suppressed and the desulfurization prefers to undertake the reduction pathway during the simultaneous CO2/SO2 removal process. The competition of SO2 and CO2 for the calcium active sites is weakened, effectively alleviating the negative effect of SO2 presence on CO2 carbonation and generating valuable sulfur-product. With the mass ratio of LS and CSC is 3, the carbonation conversion of the LS-CSC(1:3) is 34% higher than that of the LS and the reduced-sulfur ratio of the system reaches about 85% indicating an effective CO2 capture synergistic SO2 reduction. The CO produced via the Boudouard reaction between CO2 and char is sufficient to play an important role in SO2 reduction, which effectively promotes the decarboxylation process in the reduction of SO2. It also facilitates the sulfur transfer from the reduced intermediate on the solid phase to the gas phase as a form of COS, promoting the reduction of SO2 through the Claus reaction.

Abstract Soil microbial biomass (SMB) is a fundamental contributor to soil ecosystem services. Mycorrhizal fungi, a significant group of soil microbes, play essential roles in regulating carbon allocation and nutrient cycles. Acknowledging the profound importance of SMB and mycorrhizal symbiosis, our objective was to explore how mycorrhizal types modulate the global patterns of SMB across varied land use types (LUTs). Using data from 329 independent studies, we categorized vegetation species with defined mycorrhizal types into arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) type (with 958 observations) or mixed AM and ectomycorrhizal (AM + ECM) type (with 481 observations). This categorization served as the foundation for our investigation into the impacts of various LUTs and environmental conditions (mean annual temperature, and mean annual precipitation, MAP) on global SMB patterns associated with specific mycorrhizal associations. The overall mean value of SMB was remarkably higher under AM + ECM type (92.23 ± 4.73 nmol/g) compared with that under AM type (49.45 ± 1.87 nmol/g) at a global scale. The primary factor contributing to this difference was the natural system. Additionally, the AM + ECM type (0.19 ± 0.01) exhibited a higher F:B ratio (Fungi‐to‐bacteria ratio) than the AM type (0.16 ± 0.001), attributed to the cumulative effects of different LUTs. Furthermore, SMB was markedly positively affected by aridity index under AM type and negatively influenced by temperature under AM + ECM type. Besides, MAP had a pronounced positive impact on SMB under AM type, while exhibiting a negative impact under AM + ECM type. Our study presented evidence affirming the essential role of mycorrhizal associations in shaping global patterns of SMB in response to environmental factors across varied LUTs.

Agricultural heritage systems are appreciated worldwide for their significant environmental and cultural values. However, the sustainability of these systems has been compromised by environmental issues due to intensive human activities and socio-economic changes. Research has noticed that “digital nomadism” is providing a new opportunity for the sustainable development and transformation of these systems, regarded as “digital nomad-friendly” destinations. Nevertheless, comprehensive research on this new trend has been limited except for a few individual case studies. This study is the first to investigate the sustainable development of agricultural heritages considering the growing phenomenon of digital nomadism on a large scale. Based on in-depth stakeholder interviews, we introduced the Digital Nomad-Friendly (DNF) score—a comprehensive indicator system chosen and weighted by stakeholders. The DNF scores of 189 China National Important Agricultural Heritage System (China-NIAHS) sites were evaluated, and their distributions were analyzed on a national scale in China. The results highlight the importance of natural landscape and cultural value in the eyes of digital nomads, particularly emphasizing aesthetic landscape features, climatic suitability, and a community atmosphere. Sites with the highest DNF scores are located mostly in the Zhejiang and Yunnan provinces, sharing characteristics that appeal to digital nomads. The DNF scores exhibit regional variations, with high-DNF-score sites being concentrated in southwestern and southeastern China. By enhancing our understanding of digital nomads’ preferences and the influencing factors, this study provides valuable insights for the environmental management, policymaking, and sustainable development of China-NIAHS sites considering contemporary environmental and social changes.